“That was something my parents didn’t understand,” she says. “Even though I do know English, I don’t know all the words.”

She would translate insurance claims, doctor’s appointments, sometimes even conversations with lawyers.

It was challenging, she says—her parents, who moved to the United States from Guatemala before she was born and have the equivalent of elementary-school educations, don’t speak enough English “to survive,” in her words.

Which meant that in high school, she was on her own to navigate the FAFSA, scholarships, SAT, and college application process.

De Leon, then a senior in high school, was planning to participate in a sit-in protest in Washington, D.C. in January to lobby senators to approve a “clean” Dream Act, or one that creates a pathway to citizenship for immigrants without adding additional stipulations.

Would being arrested for civil disobedience, she wanted to know, affect her eligibility to attend Butler—and her Lilly scholarship?

Ramsay talked to her supervisor: De Leon’s admission decision wouldn’t automatically be rescinded, but any disciplinary infraction would be reviewed by a committee. (Butler later issued a statement reading: “Applicants to Butler University who respectfully engage in meaningful and authentic discourse regarding important issues within our society will not be penalized in the admission process”).

“I told her to be safe, be smart, and listen to her gut,” Ramsay says.

De Leon ultimately decided to stop short of being arrested—though some of her fellow protesters were.

“I felt like me going and protesting was enough at that moment,” she says.

De Leon’s passion for civic engagement started at Crispus Attucks High School on the northwest side of Indianapolis. She was a community ambassador for the Central Indiana Community Foundation, researching Indianapolis’ Hispanic and Latino communities to discover their biggest challenges. She interviewed student DACA recipients, as well as police officers who worked in the Hispanic community.

She also volunteered with the Domestic Violence Youth Network and became a leader of Crispus Attucks’ NO MORE Club, which raises awareness of teen dating violence and sexual assault.

But De Leon wanted to do more than just join a club. Why, she wondered, did Indianapolis Public Schools not have a teen dating violence prevention and response policy?

According to a 2017 Indiana Youth Institute Report, one in eight high school students said they had been “forced to do sexual things they did not want to do by someone they were dating or going out with.” That’s higher than the one in 10 national average.

De Leon worked with Lindsay Stawick, the Youth Program Manager at the Domestic Violence Network, and three other students to draft a policy. It took eight months.

When the policy was enacted at IPS schools this fall, it was the first teen dating violence prevention and response policy in Indianapolis, Stawick says. It holds school staff accountable for preventing abusive behavior and punishes students who participate in it. It also mandates training for teachers and places a teen dating abuse advocate in every IPS school.

That policy was possibly De Leon’s most significant achievement at Crispus Attucks, but she didn’t wait until her senior year to get involved with organizations she was passionate about.

She began volunteering at TeenWorks, an Indianapolis college-and-career readiness and youth employment nonprofit serving at-risk Marion County teens, her freshman year of high school.

TeenWorks President and CEO Tammie Barney says De Leon can reach the students in a way the adult volunteers can’t.

“It’s rare to see that level of boldness and leadership in such a young person,” Barney says. “She seizes the day to get the most out of every opportunity.”

Her go-getter attitude is one the reasons De Leon says Butler has been a perfect fit.

“I’ve learned that Indy is a city where if an opportunity isn’t there, you can create it,” she says.

A DIY Education

Just because her parents didn’t speak English doesn’t mean they weren’t her fiercest academic cheerleaders, De Leon says.

They accompanied her to the many college preparation programs she’d enrolled in as a show of support—even though they couldn’t understand what her instructors were saying.

When De Leon graduated from Crispus Attucks last spring—the first in her family to graduate high school—her parents, two younger brothers, and younger sister were all there to see her walk across the stage.

She gave the second half of her salutatorian speech in Spanish to honor her parents. She was proud to be a role model for her siblings, and the ear-to-ear smiles on her mom’s and dad’s faces said it all.

Her mom’s mantra growing up—and one that De Leon included in her personal statement for Butler—was that her daughter’s U.S. citizenship wouldn’t matter if she didn’t pursue an education.

So De Leon networked like her life depended on it in high school, printing professional business cards and job-shadowing mentors. She knocked out a semester’s worth of college credits from dual-credit courses before ever arriving on the Butler campus.

But sweetest of all?

A full-tuition, four-year Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, which 143 Indiana students from the state’s 92 counties receive each year. Scholars must be leaders, civically engaged, and academic all-stars—all boxes De Leon checked.

But she didn’t think she had a chance at the scholarship after she found out the valedictorian had also applied.

“We thought only one of us was going to get it,” De Leon says. “But then we both got it, which is crazy!”

Look Out, Joe Hogsett

When former first lady Michelle Obama spoke in Indianapolis last February, De Leon was in the audience. The quote that stuck with her?

“If there’s not a chair at the table, bring your own.”

That’s what De Leon is trying to do at Butler; The Political Science and Critical Communication & Media Studies double major recently established a Latino chapter of Butler’s Leading Women of Tomorrow initiative, a group focused on empowering women to seek public service careers. She applied to be vice president or secretary.

She was asked to serve as president.

And De Leon continues to volunteer with the organizations that triggered her passion for activism four years ago.

She’s a mentor with the Domestic Violence Youth Network, where she volunteers twice per month and during breaks, and she plans to continue to help with TeenWorks events this summer, from conducting mock interviews to providing resume advice.

De Leon’s goal is to work in politics after she graduates in 2022. She’d love to be the president of a youth-focused nonprofit organization like TeenWorks, but she’s also considering a run for mayor of Indianapolis.

Look out, Joe Hogsett.

Maria De Leon: A Lifelong Activist

As a daughter, student, and mentor, first-year Maria De Leon works hard for herself and others.

Butler Theatre Presents 'The Little Prince'

Butler Theatre closes its 2017–2018 season with The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery's tale of love and loyalty, April 11-22 in the Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168.

Show times are:

Wednesday, April 11, 7:00 PM (Preview)

Thursday, April 12, 7:00 PM (Preview)

Friday, April 13, 7:00 PM

Saturday, April 14, 7:00 PM

Sunday, April 15, 2:00 PM

Friday, April 20, 7:00 PM

Saturday, April 21, 7:00 PM

Sunday, April 22, 2:00 PM

Tickets are $5-$15. They are available online at ButlerArtsCenter.org or at the box office before each performance.

The Little Prince, a childhood favorite, is the story of a pilot stranded in the desert who meets an enigmatic young prince who has recently fallen from the sky. Audience members can let their imagination take flight in an adventure that celebrates fantasy and friendship.

She Won a Contest. Now the Kids Are Having a Ball

Jill B. Allen ’13 needed physical education equipment and resources for her Movement Studio classroom at the Butler Lab School and, thanks to the participants in the NFL PLAY 60 DonorsChoose.org Showdown, she’s getting it.

Allen’s class will receive an array of volleyballs, basketballs, soccer balls and other gear after her project, called “Help Us Get Moving in Class and at Recess!,” was featured in the NFL/DonorsChoose competition. The NFL Play 60 Rush initiative is a weekly contest that pits two deserving youth health and fitness projects from the corresponding cities who play on Monday Night Football against each other each week. Fans vote for the winner.

“My students are diverse and love being able to explore in multiple ways,” Allen wrote on the NFLRush website. “That is why I am requesting movement manipulatives, balls, and other PE equipment so my students can learn the importance of physical activity, living a healthy life, and what it means to be skillful.”

Allen’s project won against a school from Queens, New York, which will receive 50 percent of the money it requested.

“This is a new program and I'm starting from scratch,” Allen said. “The kids only have about six items to play with at recess and some of the equipment is too young for them. This will really build our physical education and recess equipment base.”

Mindy Welch, Coordinator of the College of Education’s Human Movement and Health Science Education (HMHSE) program, said Allen has established “a remarkable impact” at the Lab School.

“Securing the funding for this DonorsChoose project is simply one fine example,” Welch said. “Through Jill's leadership, initiative, and innovations, she is really helping to build community in new ways through the Movement Studio curriculum.”

Allen was one of six Butler juniors who were in an inaugural physical education practicum at the Lab School in the spring 2012. HMHSE students and faculty have provided the school’s only movement education since then, until Allen was hired this fall.

Welch, who is on sabbatical this fall, is working with Allen to develop the Movement Studio curriculum.

Freezing for a Good Cause

BY Peyton Thompson '20

PUBLISHED ON Jan 23 2018

If you see a polar bear on Butler’s campus, don’t be alarmed. In fact, be encouraged. Junior Butler Ambassadors for Special Olympics (BASO) co-chair Alyssa Del Priore dressed as the Polar Plunge polar bear mascot on Wednesday, January 17—better known as “super sign-up day”—to encourage her fellow students to take the Polar Plunge.

“We got over 400 people to sign up in one day,” Del Priore said. “I wanted to get as many people as possible, so I put on the polar bear suit and walked around campus. Although we got a bunch of people to sign up, we really encourage everyone to not only sign up but also fundraise and show up to the event!”

During Butler's ninth annual Polar Plunge, which will take place on February 10 at 9:00 AM outside the Health and Recreation Center, participants will jump into a pool of freezing water to benefit the Washington Township chapter of Special Olympics.

The goal is to raise $60,000 to help support sports training and athletic competition for more than 13,000 Special Olympics Indiana athletes. BASO is about 25 percent of the way toward that goal.

The Polar Plunge is now 16 years old. Most of the events take place on college campuses "because there is a big support system within campuses and it promotes inclusivity and raises money for a great cause,” Del Priore said.

But Butler's Polar Plunge is not only for Butler students.

“Anyone can participate," DelPriore said. "Students, faculty, members of the Butler/Indianapolis community, family members, friends, anyone and everyone as long as they are at least 15 years of age or a freshman in high school.”

Although jumping into the body of water will be the main attraction, there will also be various activities and games that will bring the Butler community and athletes of the Special Olympics together.

Alyssa’s Fundraising Tips

Don't be afraid to ask. Most people will be willing to donate once they learn about the cause.

Tell them why you are plunging

Stress what Special Olympics means to you

Tell them who it is for

Speak up about your fundraising goal is so everyone can help you achieve it